Tongue Tied
by evelinaonline
Summary: When Cole first receives that anonymous love letter, he decides to ignore it. However, as more and more letters come his way, he becomes obsessed with figuring out who the mysterious writer is. It's too late to back down when he realises he might be falling for the person behind the letters... [Jay x Cole, Bruiseshipping]


**gUESS WHO IS WRITING A MULTI-CHAPTER BRUISE FIC? IT'S ME!**

**This was part of the Ninjago Valentine's Week Challenge I hosted on tumblr. The final prompt was 'Favourite Non-Canon' ship, and well, it's now a fanfic :D**

**I have not set on update dates yet, but I am going to try to update once a week (most likely on Saturdays)**

**HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!**

* * *

'_Cole,_

_There are so many things I want to tell you, and honestly, I don't know where to even begin._

_For as long as I can remember, I've admired you, but only recently did I realise it was something romantic. I guess I just needed to spend some more time with you. And I did. And it was great._

_I love the way you mumble under your breath when you think that no one is listening, or the way your eyes sparkle when you're excited. I love listening to your laughter, and seeing your smile._

_I know I'm supposed to be able to stand for myself, but when you're here, I don't want to. I want you to hold me, to keep me safe._

_I want to keep you safe._

_This is why I won't reveal my identity. It's better that way, so none of us get distracted by these feelings. Well, me. You'll be fine._

_Happy Valentine's Day!_

_Sincerely,_

_Someone Who May Or May Not Be In Love With You'_

The words were printed on a yellow A4 sized paper, in the Gotham font. At first, Cole thought the letter was from a fan - it came with the rest of the mail after all, and he wasn't the only one on the team getting letters like these from fans.

On second thought, there was no way. The way the writer described Cole's habits was accurate. Way too accurate.

So who was the writer?

Cole decided he'd investigate later, as he was called for breakfast. The smell of pancakes had spread across the entire Monastery, and the master of earth was looking forward to a festive breakfast.

The others were already in the kitchen when he got there. Kai, Jay and Lloyd were throwing sugar cubes in the air, trying to aim at their mouths. Meanwhile, Nya and Zane were chatting about some blueprints or who knows what, and Sensei Wu was observing them all, quietly sipping his tea.

"Morning guys!" Cole greeted.

"Cole!" Jay said excitedly, accidentally throwing a sugar cube at Kai's forehead.

"Watch it, Jay!"

Nya shook her head. "You're finally here - I don't think the others could have waited another second. Um… Me included."

Zane _had _gone overboard, as expected.

There were seven plates on the table, and each one had a short tower of pancakes covered in maple syrup, with strawberries and berries to the side. The nindroid had also made sure to prepare fresh orange juice, and had just placed the coffee maker in the middle of the table.

"Gosh, Zane! These look delicious!" Cole said, sitting on his usual spot at the corner of the table.

Over the course of the years, everyone's spot around the table had changed. However, Cole always went for the top right corner from the door.

The most current patern went as followed; Kai was next to Cole, followed by Lloyd. Across of Cole sat Jay, next to whom was Nya, and Zane - unless Pixal was joining them, in that case Nya went to the side. Master Wu always went for the side too.

"Thank you, Valentine," Zane winked at Cole jokingly, and everyone laughed.

Cole was caught off guard however.

"Woah, you okay there Cole?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Cole shook his head. "I just received this letter this morning, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."

"Pff," Kai huffed, "I got like, a dozen of those-!"

The master of fire was hit with a sugar cube once again, this time by his sister.

"Hey!"

"Show-off," she commented.

Maybe Kai had received admiration letters too, but Cole still wasn't reassured. "It's not just a fan, Kai," Cole tried to explain. "What this person wrote, it was… Well, personal."

"Really?" Jay asked, with his mouth full of food. "I mean, we're practically famous, right?"

Nya nodded. "Yeah, which means that Jay and I keep receiving Valentine's wishes, even though we're not together anymore."

Cole still couldn't believe that Nya and Jay were no longer a thing. It had been around three months that they told everyone they broke up, yet it still felt odd. Apperantly they had stopped seeing each other romantically in a long time, but decided to give it another try.

In the end, they decided it was better for everyone if they officially ended things. There were no fights or anything, which Cole was greatful for, and the two of them were still pretty close and comfortable with one another.

Cole couldn't help but wonder how he would have reacted if this had happened the previous year, when he still had feelings for Jay.

But not anymore, he reminded himself. Cole Brookstone was a free man.

"Perhaps it is one of the other elemental masters?" Zane suggested. "We did spend last weekend together."

"True!" Lloyd said. "Gosh, I can't believe how nice Metalonia was."

"Speak for yourself," Kai mumbled. "If I have to spend another second with Karlof's family, I think I'm going to lose it."

"Oh come on, they're good people!" Lloyd disagreed. "Besides, how awesome was the festival?"

In celebration of defeating the Oni for good, the elemental masters had gathered at Metalonia, Karlof's homeland, and spent the weekend there together. Metalonia was at southeastern Ninjago, and even though it was isolated, it was very much alive.

Despite looking ferocious, the people of Metalonia were very good hosts. They lived simple lives, and valued Ninjago's traditions a lot. What Cole enjoyed most was the food - it left a nice spice in your mouth.

"The festival was delightful," Zane said. "But Kai does have a point - Karlof's daughter didn't seem so fond of you, Lloyd."

"She's… Okay." Lloyd was clearly trying to deny Zane's comment.

"She calls you _broccoli_," Kai insisted, earning a groan from the green ninja.

"I'd love to sit and talk about Karlof's goth daughter for the rest of the day," Cole interrupted, "but who of the elemental masters would write _me _a love letter?"

"I don't know, Ash?" Jay shrugged. "Chamille?"

"Chamille wasn't even there," Cole said, "And no offense to Ash, but he's so not my type."

"How about Bolobo?" Zane suggested.

Kai shook his head. "Don't take it personally, Zane, but it sounds as if you're trying to cover up _your _crush on Cole."

Cole couldn't help but laugh, and soon everyone on the table - except Zane - joined him.

"I have a girlfriend, Kai," Zane said, with a dead serious tone.

"He's joking, Zane," Nya patted his shoulder. "But hey, at least you can cross our nindroid friend out of your list. And while you're at it, cross me out too. I don't think I'm ready for a relationship at the moment."

"Oh, same," Lloyd agreed. "No offense, Cole, but I could never see you as anything other than family."

"Me and you both, buddy," Cole said, smiling at Lloyd. He had grown so much, yet nothing had changed.

"Why don't you just cross everyone here out of your list?" Jay said. "I mean, it's a start!"

Cole shook his head, chuckling. "What makes you think I have a _list_?"

"This is nice and all, my students," Master Wu said, placing his cup on the table, "but don't you think time for training has arrived?"

"Yes, Sensei," everyone said in one voice, starting to put away their plates.

Soon they were all outside, doing their warm-up exercises. Yet, one question remained in Cole's head;

Who had sent the letter?

* * *

**I'd just like to take a moment to say, that Karlof's daughter is actually an OC by my good friend xxwhisperapplexx on tumblr! Ange won't be part of the rest of the story, but I thought it was a fun topic to bring up :D**

**I know this was a bit short for a fic's chapter, but considering it's only the prologue, I guess I'm satisfied with it. I'll try to extend the length of the chapters as I go on, but we'll see!**

**Hope you guys will be sticking around for this, as this is a learning experience for me. I haven't written a multi-chapter fic in a while, but I am positive we can make it happen!**

**-Evelina**


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